Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes
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Nice post. I would just like to point out that we can't even be sure he wasn't actually called. While that is one possible starting point for his non-appearance, for all we know he was called, or at least an attempt to call him was made, but in the former situation he for some reason we are unaware of chose, or was not able, to answer that call or, in the latter, the attempt to deliver that call failed.
All we know is that he does not testify at the inquest (barring, of course, George's previous suggestion that he gave testimony but it was prohibited from being reported on - an option I can't say is entirely impossible but personally I believe the press would have hinted at in some way had that occurred - I would expect to see some cryptic story along the lines of "testimony of an additional witness was given which we are not allowed to comment upon, but we will be apealing to the courts to ensure the public is fully informed" - but maybe that is applying modern day ideas inappropriately? If there were such instances of "we know something but the court won't let us say what it is" stories in the Victorian era, then that would address this issue - I'm digressing now, sorry).
My view is that we need to focus on what we know for sure, and that is that there is no record of Schwartz giving testimony. So either he did and it's not reported (my personal view is that is unlikely) or he did not. If he did not, either he was "supposed to", but his summons was not delivered to him or it was. If it was, then for some reason he did not answer that summons (and there is no surviving record of consequences to him for not showing, nor any record for his reason).
There are so many points in the chain where things diverge, that it is entirely unwise (unsafe as Trevor would say), to follow any of those paths with any sense of certainty we're still on the right path. In the end, we have nothing to indicate he testified, and nothing to indicate the reason why. I do think we have enough information to set aside the idea that he wasn't believed (which I've outlined before), but that is a far cry from knowing the actual why. One why not does not a why make.
- Jeff
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